Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew insists the attitude of Fabricio Coloccini should not be questioned.

Following revelations at the start of the year that the Argentine wants to return home for personal reasons, Pardew has criticised those questioning his desire to get back in the first team.

"He's one hundred per cent mentally ready, there's no doubt in my mind about that," Pardew said. "I think some of the stuff on the internet and in social media is absolute rubbish. It's so far off the truth. Because of the result we had against Sunderland, in particular, it all seems to have gone into a spiral of conspiracies.

"It's unfair if people are questioning his desire to get back fit. It's very unfair, in fact, to him as a person. A lot of his problems were around his personal situation and I don't want to go into any details about that.

"But I do feel that his determination to come back from this injury could not be any greater. He's probably in the best condition he's been in for a long while. I don't think there's any substance in those kind of suggestions at all."